If you are an idealist in the coffee world (as I am) Sustainable Harvest, the green coffee importer founded in 1997 by David Griswold, is a beacon of what the green trading side of the business should be aspiring to. Their "relationships" coffee model and advocacy for supporting farms in coffee producing countries is always at the avant guard with innovative events like, Let's Talk Coffee which creates a learning environment for producers and exporters and importers to allow people in producing countries to gain agency over their stories and control over businesses.
Sucafina is a Swiss-based green coffee importer that aims to be the "leading sustainable farm to roaster coffee company in the world."(foodnavigator.com). They recently released their commitment to this mission with their investment with CSmart, a Brazilian based developer of AI image recognition software for green grading to make them more sustainable by reducing the amount of sample shipping in the process of export.
"In November 2022, Sucafina acquired a majority stake in Dutch instant coffee company TB Brown which it said would lead to TB Brown becoming Europe’s foremost sustainable private label instant coffee supplier." (World Coffee Portal)
Acquiring Sustainable Harvest is another step in the trend by Sucafina toward sustainability. The details of the sale have not been disclosed however Sucafina did purchase 100% stake in Sustainable Harvest. Sucafina has said that they plan to have Sustainable Harvest continue on its mission and as a Certified B Corp with David Griswold taking an "innovative" role within the company according to World Coffee Portal .
The famous Let's Talk Coffee Event will be held February 20-25 this year in Honduras. It will be interesting to hear what further details are shared at the event.
Speaking with David recently in our podcast interview, he didn't really reveal any indication of the landmark move. Listen hear for clues... F+B / David Griswold
The acquisition, to me, signifies a positive impact in the industry. Sucafina is clearly taking steps to secure its path as a leader in sustainability across sectors within the coffee industry. Acquiring a company like Sustainable Harvest shows that there is value in sustainable green coffee trading. This move also serves as a credit to David and his vision for creating a company radically different from what climate of the industry in the late 90's. This brings sustainability and value chain equality to a larger forum. I am optimistic that Sucafina will use Sustainable Harvest as a vehicle and format to bring to more of its producing partners around the world.
